Compensator stand



Sept. 17, 1968 J, 1, FRANTZEN 3,401,860

COMPENSATOR STAND Fled April 13, 1966 v y www..

l llll MM INVENTOR JOHN J. FRA/V T ZE N United States Patent O 3,401,860 COMPENSATOR STAND John J. Frantzen, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to Buckbee- Mears Company, St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed Apr. 13, 1966, Ser. No. 542,378 Claims. (Cl. 226-199) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A set of at least three vertical rollers, two of them mounted in one horizontal rail and the third mounted in a second coplanar, parallel spaced-apart rail, are individually movable along their respective rails to provide compensating adjustments for a length of webbing which is threaded amongst the rollers. At least one of the rollers is provided with a tilting adjustment to permit raising and lowering the webbing on the rollers to some controllable limited degree.

ri`his invention relates generally to machinery for handling an elongated continuous web in a vertical plane. In particular this invention is directed toward providing means for adjusting the webbing for tension, direction of ow, elevation, etc. as part of an automatic continuous processing system,

The invention will be described as it may be used in a system for processing continuous metallic webbing such as described in copending patent application by Norman B. Mears, Ser. No. 433,950, tiled Feb. 19, 1965, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. AS described in more detail in the copending Mears application, the metallic webbing, which typically may be approximately 21 inches wide and range between .01 and .001 inch thickness, is fed in a vertical plane on edge from a supply reel through a series of processing stations to produce etched aperture masks for color TV picture tubes. It is clear that many problems present themselves when trying to handle thin, flexible metallic webbing in this manner. Various inventions have been developed to alleviate some of the diculties that arise and the instant invention is in that category. From the description in the copending Mears application, supra, it is clear that it would be preferable to have the various processing stations located adjacent to one another side-by-side so that the metal webbing would always flow in a ystraight line from its source until in finished form. In practice this is usually difcult to achieve because of physical limitations of facilities in which such systems are housed. It is often necessary to change direction of ow of the webbing, oftentimes as much as 180, so that the various processing stations can be located in the allocated space. This presents problems such as maintaining a relatively constant and correct tension on the webbing, keeping it at a relatively stable elevation and preventing it from creasing or otherwise deforming. It is an object of this invention to alleviate the immediately foregoing problems and others of a similar nature.

In the system described in the copending Mears application, supra, one of the processing stations is a photoprinting station which may include a large number of photoprinting frames which are cyclicly closed and opened to allow prescribed patterns to be photoprinted on the metal web and to allow the webbing to be pulled through after the photoprinting step. For greatest efficiency the patterns are printed on contiguous sections of the webbing to minimize waste. In some instances it has been found necessary to bend the webbing 180 back in the direction it comes from even while within the photoprinting station. In other words, the webbing will pass in one 3,401,860 Patented Sept. 17, 1968 ice direction through a first group of printing frames which are side-by-side, then be bent and will travel in the opposite direction through another group of photoprinting frames which are also side-by-side. Where the webbing is looped back there is introduced a gap between consecutive photoprinting frames which must be compensated for when attempting to print on contiguous sections of the webbing. It is a further object of this invention to provide the foregoing compensation.

Briefly, this invention is a compensator stand comprising elongated vertical rollers which are adjustably movable on tracks or rails so that the webbing which is threaded among the rollers can be adjusted for tension, length of take-up and elevation.

Other objects and features of this invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a preferred embodiment of this invention illustrating a compensator stand having two sets of rails and four rollers;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a view along section line 3-3 of FIG. 4 showing some of the detailed construction of the means for adjustably moving the rollers along their supporting rails, and

FIG, 4 is a view seen along section line 4 4 of FIG. 1 showing some of the construction details of a further lateral adjustment for the input roller in the compensator stand of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, a supporting table 10 is constructed in any suitable fashion and has a table top and legs for resting on the floor. The table 10 supports the compensator stand at the `desired elevation. A preferred embodiment of the stand comprises an upper set of tracks or rails 11a and 11b and a lower set of rails 12a and 12b, only one of which can be seen in FIG. 2. Rails 12a and 12b are located in a lower horizontal plane and rails 11a and 11b are located in an `upper horizontal plane. The frontmost rails 11b and 12b are in the one vertical plane and correspondingly the rearmost rails 11a and 12a are in a common vertical plane. The size of the rails and the vertical and horizontal separation between the various rails is a matter of choice and is ordinarily selected to be suitable to handle the size and length of the webbing involved. Typically, for the use contemplated in a continuous processing system for metallic web as referred to earlier which may involve a metal web ranging from .0l to .001 inch thick and a width of approximately 2l inches, the rails may be approximately eleven feet long, the upper rails may be raised approximately three feet above the lower rails and the `front rail may be approximately one foot in front of the rear rail. These dimensions are only intended to be exemplary and no limitation is intended.

Held between the front rails 11b and 12b are the front vertical rollers 13 and 14 and between the rear rails 11a and 12a are the rear rollers 15 and 16. All of lthe rollers, except the bottom of roller 13, are mounted to the respective rails in identical fashion. As observed most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4, the roller shafts 17 are suitably journaled at their upper and lower ends in sliding blocks or carriages 18 which are suitably coupled to the associated rails 11 and 12. In this manner the rollers are free to rotate about their own axes but may be moved in a guided manner with respect to the rails. Associated with each of the rollers is a pair of elongated lead screws 20 which provide the means whereby the carriages 18 and their associated rollers can be adjustably moved left and right along their corresponding rails. The lead screws extend from an outside end of each rail 11 and 12 inward along the rail and are supported at their other end within the track by a support wall such as shown at 21. Each of the lead screws is threaded through a corresponding carriage 18 at the top and bottom of each -of the four rollers. A handle or hand crank 22 is attached to the outside end of each of the lead screws 2t). Turning the crank 22 rotates the corresponding lead screw 20 to cause the carriage 18 with which it is threaded to move left or right along the rail between the two ends of the lead screw. As mentioned earlier, there are two lead screws 20 and cranks 22 associated with each roller, one along the bottom track 12 and one along the associated upper track 11.

In addition to the left and right adjustments described above, roller 13 has a further adjustment which is not found on the other rollers. The bottom end of roller 13 is mounted in what might be considered a double carriage. As seen most clearly in FIG. 3, the lower end of roller 13s shaft 17 is journaled in a slide block or carriage 24 which is very similar to carriage 18. Carriage 24 in turn is slidably mounted in a short length of rail Z5 which runs at right angle to the other rails but is virtually identical to rails 12. Associated with carriage 24 and rail 25 is a short length of lead screw 26 having a crank handle 27 at its front end and supported at its other end in a support wall 28. This latter combination, all of which is carried along by the short piece of track 25, is mounted 0n the bottom carriage 18 which provides the left and right adjustment for roller 13. Turning crank handle 27 rotates lead screw 26 and in turn causes the carriage 24 with which it is threaded to move forward or back along track 25. This provides means for tilting or slanting roller 13 from -front to back, if desired.

As illustrated by broken line 23, the metallic webbing intertwines among the four rollers by entering the stand at the front left side, curving 90 part way around the input roller 13, running to the right front roller 14, then returning back to the left rear roller 15, from there on to the right rear or output roller 16 and then turning another 90 back out the right front of the stand. In practice, when the webbing leaves a processing station or, for example, a rst group vof photo-printing fram-es, it may be fed into the compensator stand and 'follows the somewhat serpentine path among the rollers in the fashion described and illustrated by dashed line 23. At the output side it may be fed for further processing into another group of printing frames. The length of webbing which must be taken up within the compensator stand is somewhat critical to ensure on the one hand that the patterns printed -by the rst group of printing frames are not printed over by the second group of frames while, on the other hand, that the second group of frames print their patterns on areas contiguous with those printed by the lirst group. To set the take-up length in the compensator stand as desired, generally rollers 14 and 15 are adjusted with respect to one another along their corresponding tracks 11 and 12. To adjust roller 14 lef-t or right, the upper and lower right front crank handles 22 are manipulated so that the respective lead screws 20 move the carriages 18 in the desired direction and the correct amounts. Similarly, to adjust the roller 15 the left rear upper and lower crank handles 22 are manipulated. Additional adjustments as required may be made by suitable right and left positioning of the input and output rollers 13 and 16 by manipulation of their associated hand cranks. The latter two rollers are also used to set a desired degree of tension on the webbing so that it wont crease `or tend to shift in elevation. In addition to adjusting the rollers along the rails for take-up and tension, since each roller is independently adjustable at its top and bottom, each can be tilted if need be in order to hold the webbing at a relatively stable elevation. In a continuous processing system of this sort, it is important that the webbing be maintained at a relatively stable elevation and there are various factors which tend to cause it to drift in elevation. Therefore, it may be necessary to tilt some, if not all, of the rollers in the compensator stand by suitable manipulation of the respective crank handles 22 associated with their corresponding upper and lower lead screws 20. In a somewhat similar vein it has been found convenient to provide the additional forward and rearward tilting adjustment for roller 13 at the input side of the compensator stand to permit `a somewhat greater degree of adjustment on the tension of the webbing at that point and a more direct adjustment of the elevation of the webbing. This, of course, is achieved by manipulation of the crank handle 27 to rotate lead screw 26 so that the bottom end -of roller 13 is moved as desired by carriage 24 along the rail 25. Use of the lead screws with their associated control handles provides accurate adjustments which are quite stable. The webbing ordinarily may travel among the rollers at various rates and in an intermittent fashion which could produce forces which might cause the rollers to shift in position if stable means of adjustment were not used.

I claim:

1. A compensator stand for webbing which is fed through processing stations on edge in a vertical plane comprising:-

(a) a pair of spaced-apart, elongated, parallel rails lying in a common horizontal plane;

(b) a pair of elongated rollers mounted vertically with the lower end of their shafts being journaled in carriages which are slidably engaged with one of said rails;

(c) a third elongated roller mounted vertically with the lower end of its shaft being journaled in a carriage which is slidably engaged with the other of said rails, the webbing passing among and in contact with all of said rollers;

(d) an elongated lead screw for each of said rollers extending along the respective rails;

(e) means in each of said carriages engaged with a respective one of said lead screws for slidably moving the roller-carrying carriage along the corresponding rail as the lead screw rotates;

(f) and means for selectively rotating each of said lead screws.

2. The invention as described in claim 1, further including:

(a) a pair of elongated parallel upper rails lying in a horizontal plane above the first-mentioned plane, each of said upper rails being located directly above a corresponding rail of the first-mentioned pair;

(b) said rollers having the upper end of their shafts journaled in carriages which are slidably engaged with respective ones of said upper rails.

3. The invention as described in claim 2 wherein said means for positioning the rollers along the rails comprises:

(a) a pair of elongated lead screws for each of said rollers, one lead screw of each pair extending along an upper rail and the other extending along a lower rail;r

(b) means in each of said upper and lower carriagesl engaged with respectively corresponding lead screws for slidably moving the respective carriages along the corresponding rail as the lead screw rotates;

(c) and means for independently rotating each of said lead screws.

4. The invention as described in claim 3 further including a fourth roller vertically mounted in the same manner as the other rollers between the same rails as said third rail is mounted.

5. The invention as described in claim 4 further including: means for adjustably moving the lower end of the shaft of one of said rollers within its carriage in a direction transverse to the length of said rails.

(References on following page) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,610,671 12/1926 Funk 226-199 X 1,896,928 2/1933I White 226-119 X 2,059,979 11/1936 Aiken 226-119 6 3,176,927 4/1965 Irazoqui 226-118 X 3,268,140 8/1966 'Rouyer 226-199 X 3,270,937 9/1966 Harrell 226-197 M. HENSON, WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner.

R. A. SCHACHER, Assistant Examiner. 

